Attachment 2 - JOFOC redacted.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA)

John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

For PRIME-1 Trident Drill Fabrication

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2(b)(1) – Identification of the Agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a JOFOC prepared by NASA KSC.

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to award a sole-source contract to Honeybee Robotics, Ltd. (HBR), for the fabrication of a flight-ready, lunar augering drill hereafter referred to as the TRIDENT drill.

3. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

The TRIDENT drill will be developed, built, and tested to be ready for integration onto a lunar lander. HBR will finalize fabrication drawings prior to procuring, fabricating and testing the spaceflight-worth drill hardware. HBR will also perform a comprehensive performance test of the drill in its post-fabrication configuration using the concurrently developed spaceflight avionics and software associated with the TRIDENT drill. The period of performance is August 1, 2020 through August 31, 2021. Estimated value: $5.1M ($5.7- $600K Company Contribution of 10%)

4. FAR 6.303-2(b)(4) – An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for acquisitions using the procedures in FAR Subpart 13.5 is 41 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 1901.

5. FAR 6.303-2(b)(5) – A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The rationale supporting the use of 41 U.S.C. § 1901, as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5, is deemed to be available only from HBR as described below.

The HBR drill was first proposed under the NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and awarded a Phase l contract entitled, “One-Meter Class Drilling for Planetary Exploration,” NASA Contract No. NNX09CA89C. HBR was further awarded a contract under a NASA Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Contract No.

80HQTR19C0024 entitled, “RedWater: Extraction of Water from Mars’ Ice Deposits.” HBR has developed the TRIDENT drill for application to lunar and Martian terrains under these two competitively awarded contracts. HBR has developed proprietary processes, specialized skills, and exclusive knowledge related to the ability to design, build, and operate a robotic drill on another planetary body. Further to their unique technical knowledge is the urgent need for this spaceflight hardware in order to meet the U.S. Presidential challenge to find water on the lunar surface and enable sustained human presence on the Moon.

6. FAR 6.303-2(b)(6) – A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

NASA will publicize the Combined Solicitation/Synopsis on the Government wide Point of Entry, <https://beta.sam.gov> in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. The Statement of Work will be listed in the solicitation to provide any potential source the opportunity to respond.

Any responses received as a result of the Combined Solicitation/Synopsis will be appropriately dispositioned and documented in an addendum to this document.

7. FAR 6.303-2(b)(7) – A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The Contractor shall be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable. It is anticipated that the Contracting Officer will be able to make a fair and reasonable price determination based upon one or more of the criteria set forth in FAR 13.106-3(a)(2). The Contracting Officer anticipates making a comparison to historical prices paid for the same or similar items (13.106-3(a)(2)(ii)) based upon prior and recent NASA purchases.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted and the results, or a statement of the reasons a market research was not conducted:

Review of recent market research undertaken to meet similar or identical requirements for the supply/service.

Contract specialist reviewed the synopsis issued for the NASA BAA NNH16ZCQ001K.

Within this synopsis it was stated that: “An important part of NASA's strategy is to stimulate the commercial space industry and engage related terrestrial industries, while leveraging those commercial capabilities through public-private partnerships and potentially through future contracts to deliver mission capabilities at lower costs.”

Review of Government and/or commercial databases for relevant information:

A review of the Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation found that: The HBR drill was first proposed under the NASA SBIR program and awarded a Phase l contract entitled, “One-Meter Class Drilling for Planetary Exploration” NASA Contract No.

NNX09CA89C. HBR was further awarded a contract under a NASA BAA Contract No.

80HQTR19C0024 entitled, “RedWater: Extraction of Water from Mars’ Ice Deposits.” HBR has developed the TRIDENT drill for application to lunar and Martian terrains under these two competitively awarded contracts. They have developed proprietary processes, specialized skills, and exclusive knowledge related to the ability to design, build, and operate a robotic drill on another planetary body.

An article posted on www.sbir.gov at:

<https://www.sbir.gov/sites/default/files/SBA_Success_HoneybeeRobotics.pdf>, discussed HBRs success with follow-on contracts with NASA, Department of Defense, and private companies. The article states that HBR, commercially, is exploring opportunities in the energy sector, thanks to its early Research & Development work with NASA. HBR, for over fifteen years, has developed advanced robotic systems and planetary drills that allow scientists to explore planets in three dimensions. The article also noted that since 2003, “every NASA spacecraft to land on the Martian surface has utilized technology built by Honeybee, although the drill’s objectives were originally intended for the moon.”

Review of Internet resources for relevant information.

In the article, “NASA will send VIPER rover to the moon in 2022 to track down south pole’s water ice”, dated October 25, 2019, posted on <GeekWire.com>, NASA Administrator, Jim Bridenstine is quoted as saying, “VIPER is going to rove on the south pole of the moon, and VIPER is going to assess where the water ice is. We’re going to be able to characterize the water ice, and ultimately drill and find out just how is the water ice embedded in the regolith on the moon.” The article goes on to list the four science instruments that will be provided by Ames Research Center, KSC, and HBR to make this mission successful. Contained in the list is the drill associated with this procurement, “The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain, or TRIDENT, developed with Honeybee Robotics, will dig up soil cuttings from as much as a meter (3 feet) beneath the surface. . .”

<https://www.geekwire.com/2019/nasa-plans-send-viper-rover-moon-2022-track-south-poles-ice/>.

At <https://companyweek.com/company-profile/honeybee-robotics>, in an interview with HBR President, Kiel Davis, it is noted that space is HBRs biggest market by far. “About 85 percent of what we do is in space, and most of that is for NASA,” says Davis. He goes on to describe how their NASA experience is leading to their commercial work in energy and gas, with the comment: space has “a lot in common with these oilfield and refinery environments.”

The results of the market research conducted determined that the required services are commercial in nature as they have been procured by NASA under public-private partnership type procurements, to stimulate the commercial space industry. The same technology is used in the private sector for commercial purposes. It has also been determined, because HBR researched, designed, and developed this drill specifically for NASA through the SBIR program, that this is a logical follow-on contract that requires the knowledge and resources of the current vendor, and cannot be solicited through any other source.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

None.

9. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

No other company expressed interest from the previous contracts and none is anticipated for the current acquisition. No other company responded to the prior NASA postings for these products. If a company responds to the Combined Solicitation/Synopsis, the technical representative will be notified and the response will be appropriately assessed.

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(11) – A statement of actions, if any, the Agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

NASA will continue to reach out to the commercial marketplace for possible public-private partnerships, as this is an important part of NASA’s strategy to stimulate the commercial space industry. This contract is a follow-on contract to a competitively awarded BAA.

80KSC020R0043 PRIME-1 TRIDENT Drill Fabrication

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SIGNATURE PAGE

I certify that the facts presented in this justification are accurate and complete.

Jacqueline. W. Quinn, Ph.D.

Technical Representative

I hereby certify that the above justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer

CONCURRENCE:

Laura B. Rochester Procurement Officer

APPROVAL:

Kelvin Manning Competition Advocate, Kennedy Space Center

07/14/2020

For